Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name (public) | Kathleen Gawthrop (also known as Kit Gawthrop; later Kit Palmer) |
| Public role | Best known as the second wife of Arnold Palmer |
| Marriage | Married Arnold Palmer — January 26, 2005 (private ceremony, Oahu, Hawaii) |
| Spouse | Arnold Palmer (1929–2016) — married 2005 until his death in 2016 |
| Children | Reported: Al Gawthrop III (son), Lynn Bouck (daughter), Blair Miller (daughter) |
| Step-children | Peggy Palmer Wears and Amy Palmer Saunders (Arnold Palmer’s daughters) |
| Residence (reported) | Associated with family life in Tiburon, California and social circles around Pebble Beach |
| Estate note | Named beneficiary in Arnold Palmer’s estate; public reporting lists a $10 million provision for his wife |
| Public profile | Low — primarily known through family associations and human-interest pieces |
I write this like a scene in a film — the camera pulls back from the roar of a gallery at a golf tournament and catches, off to the side, a quiet figure who isn’t there for the limelight but who steadies the whole picture. That figure is Kathleen Gawthrop. If Arnold Palmer was the star on center stage — the man whose name became shorthand for charisma and “Arnie’s Army” — Kit occupied the warm, steady wash of light that made the scene believable.
A late chapter written in private
On January 26, 2005, Kit and Arnold married in a private beach ceremony in Oahu — a date that marks the moment two personal histories braided together. From that day through Arnold’s passing in 2016, Kathleen’s life became intertwined with a public legend: charity events, foundation meetings, family reunions, and the inevitable media attention that follows the name “Palmer.” Yet she never became a headline-grabbing personality in her own right. Instead, she moved like a supporting actress who knows how to make the lead shine — a craft as old as classic Hollywood.
Numbers matter in a life lived alongside a public figure: the marriage lasted about 11 years until Arnold’s death; estate filings and press accounts identify a $10,000,000 bequest set aside for his wife — a figure that, for better or worse, is the clearest, most concrete financial fact on record about Kit’s public standing. Meanwhile, Arnold’s broader financial footprint has been described in the hundreds of millions — estimates have floated in the $700M–$875M range depending on the accounting — but those sums are his; Kit’s public identity remains threaded through family, not fiscal headlines.
The family portrait — names, relations, roles
I like to think of families as casts: the lead, the supporting players, the cameos, the next generation who inherits the script. Here’s the small, human cast around Kathleen:
| Name | Relation | Short introduction |
|---|---|---|
| Arnold Palmer | Spouse (husband; deceased) | Golf icon (1929–2016), entrepreneur, philanthropist; married Kit in 2005. |
| Al Gawthrop Jr. | Former husband (reported) | Identified in public reporting as Kit’s prior spouse; father of some of her children. |
| Al Gawthrop III | Son | Listed in public coverage as Kit’s son — part of her private family circle. |
| Lynn Bouck | Daughter | Reported as one of Kit’s daughters. |
| Blair Miller (Blair Gawthrop) | Daughter | Reported as a daughter; appears in family listings alongside siblings. |
| Peggy Palmer Wears | Step-daughter | Arnold’s daughter from a previous marriage — Kit’s step-daughter after 2005. |
| Amy Palmer Saunders | Step-daughter | Another of Arnold’s daughters — part of the blended family dynamic. |
| Grandchildren | Extended family | Multiple grandchildren are referenced in coverage of family events and obituaries. |
That table is both tidy and insufficient — tidy because it gives you the names and relations, insufficient because family is texture, not just labels. I imagine holidays with the clink of glasses, whispered memories of tournaments, that odd mix of private grief and public ceremony that follows any household touched by fame.
Career, public life, and the curious absence of a headline-grabbing résumé
If you google for a conventional, career-style CV for Kathleen Gawthrop, you’ll mostly find the coastlines of speculation. Unlike her husband — a man whose name launched brands, products, and philanthropic arms — Kit doesn’t have an established public biography as an executive, artist, or media figure. Mainstream coverage frames her most often as a family and philanthropic presence: steady, private, and understated.
That’s a different kind of public life — quieter, less monetized, and harder to quantify. Which brings us back to the numbers: aside from the estate provision, there’s no authoritative public net-worth estimate for Kathleen herself — only the contextual wealth of the Palmer name and the visible traces of social life in places like Tiburon and Pebble Beach.
How public memory remembers her
The most visible moments for Kit in the public record are tied to the arc of Arnold Palmer’s final years and the aftermath of his death in 2016. Photographs captured by agencies, obituaries, and human-interest pieces preserved the image of a woman who preferred the margins rather than the center. She shows up, not as spectacle, but as the person who keeps the story human — the person who, when the cameras stop rolling, sits with the family and counts the practical things that the cameras will never see.
I’ll confess — when I read those human-interest features I feel like an audience member who’s been allowed backstage. You watch and you realize the person you thought you knew from press clips is more like a portrait in a gallery: defined by the relationships around her, the quiet decisions she made, the life she stewarded rather than the one she staged.
FAQ
Who is Kathleen Gawthrop?
Kathleen Gawthrop, often known as Kit, is publicly known as the second wife of golf legend Arnold Palmer; she married him on January 26, 2005, and was part of his family until his death in 2016.
Does Kathleen have children?
Yes — reporting lists three children from a prior marriage: Al Gawthrop III, Lynn Bouck, and Blair Miller.
Was Kathleen named in Arnold Palmer’s will?
Yes — public reporting indicates a provision of $10 million in Arnold Palmer’s estate set aside for his wife.
Is Kathleen a public figure with a recorded career?
No mainstream sources document a high-profile independent career for Kathleen; she has maintained a relatively private public presence centered on family and charitable involvement.
Where did Kathleen and Arnold marry?
They were married in a private ceremony in Oahu, Hawaii, on January 26, 2005.
Is Kit active on social media?
Kit is not widely known for a public social media presence; most public images and mentions come from official channels, event photography, and press coverage tied to family events.
